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Thread: Anyone made a Frugelhorn Lite speaker kit ?

  1. #11
    Join Date: May 2016

    Location: Gloucestershire

    Posts: 977
    I'm Ian.

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    They look great! One thing Mark Audio recommends is that the drivers are run in for 100 hours with very low volume. Don't exactly know why they should be so delicate but that's what I did with mine - mounted in cardboard baffles and connected up to a spare system playing music on a loop.

  2. #12
    Join Date: May 2013

    Location: Rotherham

    Posts: 693
    I'm steve.

    Default Anyone made a Frugelhorn Lite speaker kit ?

    Got the second cabinet completed and the pair have been in use in the bedroom since yesterday evening. As to the running in of the drivers I queried that with Stefan at KJF Audio, he said in his experience with all the MA drivers the recommended low volume running in isn't set in stone and provided restraint is exercised early on in their life they should provide many years of musical pleasure. I don't play music at very high volume levels anyhow, at my 2.5-3 metres listening distance my average listening level is only about 60-65dbs with the odd peak to 70dbs, that equates to an input of a few hundred milliwatts into the drivers which is unlikely to to cause them any stress.
    I spent the rest of yesterday evening and a little after midnight listening to a broad selection of music, initial impressions are very favourable, the usual full range driver benefits of openness and clarity across the frequency range are on show as are dynamics and speed, unlike some full range drivers giving a "hot seat" character the Alpair 5.3 seems to have very wide dispersion and are quite uncritical of listener position which is a real plus point in my book. They major on the conveyance of emotional content in vocals probably better than any other speakers I've owned which makes for a captivating listening experience.
    The Frugelhorn Lite cabinet design is obviously tailored to suit the driver perfectly, observing the driver closely while listening to music with a decent amount of bass content showed only the most minimal amount of cone excursion, probably well under 1mm yet a decent level of bass was filling the room, impressive.
    Although the cabinet is obviously instrumental in the bass response it would appear to be rigid and well damped enough so as not to generate any colouration to the sound, compared to my usual speaker the Q Acoustics Concept 20s with their high tech Gelcore sandwich cabinets the evenness of the sound balance and lack of box effects are on a par with one another which is quite an achievement for the FHL.
    I'm just currently awaiting the arrival of a set of spike inserts and spikes for the cabinet bases which should tighten up the bass a bit more as well as making it easier for me to get them properly levelled, I'm also toying with the idea of treating the cabinets with Danish Oil and wax to bring out the natural grain of the Baltic Birch Plywood rather than painting them.


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  3. #13
    Join Date: May 2013

    Location: Rotherham

    Posts: 693
    I'm steve.

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    Quote Originally Posted by ianlenco View Post
    I've built the Frugelhorn and Frugelhorn XL kits before but yours is the first "lite" build I've seen, very cute. Re long binding posts, I've used these before but you have to make sure they are very, very tight. The first time I used them they came a little loose and of course they are impossible to tighten once you've glued up the cabinets. Alternatives are to get a plate and posts - HiFi Collective do a nice one from Janzen or mount the posts behind the driver where you can get at them if they do loosen.

    Have fun!
    The binding posts are the Janzen ones and they are visible directly behind the driver aperture, I've tightened them very securely with the nut onto the spring washer so it's highly unlikely they will work loose, it is actually possible to get my hand in through the driver aperture, although the first time I did it I scraped the back of my hand on the sharp machined edges of the driver cutout so I've smoothed off all the edges with my Dremel and a sanding cylinder just in case I need to reach inside again at some point.


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  4. #14
    Join Date: Jun 2010

    Location: Essex, United Kingdom

    Posts: 899
    I'm givingyouaprettygoodclue.

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    Articles like this make AoS a joy to read.

    Thank you for posting.

    Pete

  5. #15
    Join Date: May 2016

    Location: Gloucestershire

    Posts: 977
    I'm Ian.

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    Glad you are enjoying your Alpairs, they are excellent drivers. Your description of the sound I totally agree with. Full rangers that have no crossover do have a seductive immediacy. As to run in, Stefan is a knowledgable guy so I am sure his advice is sound.

  6. #16
    Join Date: May 2013

    Location: Rotherham

    Posts: 693
    I'm steve.

    Default Anyone made a Frugelhorn Lite speaker kit ?

    Since I took the first photo I’ve swapped the speakers so the FHLs are now to the outside and wider apart and slightly angled in, I’ve also fitted spikes to the bases, have set the front spikes longer to slightly angle the speakers upwards to good effect, although as the speaker bases are quite deep front to back it doesn't alter the angle very much, maybe a couple of degrees,the wider spacing has done wonders for the soundstage and imagery, also now the drivers have passed the 30 hour mark they are noticeably improving, the slight hardness they had straight out of the box has subsided and they’re starting to sound a lot more refined, repeated the YouTube low frequency test sweep I did on day one which had them cutting off at just under 55hz, today there was still output admittedly at a low level to just under 40hz, I think when fully broken in they may be solid down to 40hz, if so I’d be more than happy with that.
    I’m just waiting for a tube of light wood filler to arrive so I can sort out a small number of slight imperfections on the cabs and then I can get them sanded smooth and treated with a few coats of Danish Oil and wax.





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    Last edited by steve-z; 03-05-2020 at 14:51.

  7. #17
    Join Date: May 2013

    Location: Rotherham

    Posts: 693
    I'm steve.

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    Yesterday I made a start on finishing off the cabinets, I tested out applying Danish Oil on one of the rear unseen surfaces and tbh I wasn't impressed, it looked pretty horrible, very patchy and blotchy grain, also in the regions where I'd used the wood filler there was no take up of the Danish Oil's colour and it stood out like a sore thumb. Because of this I've reverted back to my initial intention which is to spray paint them Satin white. Gave the speakers 2 coats of primer yesterday leaving a couple of hours between coats and smoothing down after each with a scotch pad. Put on the first coat of Satin white which is the first of 3 or 4 coats, having made mistakes previously by putting following coats on too soon I'm going to leave a full day between each coat and rubbing down after each coat, hopefully that will give me a good quality finish.


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  8. #18
    Join Date: May 2010

    Location: Worcestershire, UK

    Posts: 1,101
    I'm Rob.

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    Sounds goods - looking forward to seeing how they turn out.
    Rob.
    Powered by crossed fingers and clenched buttocks

  9. #19
    Join Date: May 2013

    Location: Rotherham

    Posts: 693
    I'm steve.

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    To finish the FHLs off and to make the slim cabinets more stable I've been hunting round to try and find some reasonably priced base outriggers. Was lucky enough to spot some on ebay that were standard fitting on the Kef Q Series floor standers. Won the auction for them this morning, £26 including postage, absolute bargain price, I reckon when they were available they'd probably have cost about £100.
    Here's a Dutch YT vid of fitting.

    https://youtu.be/-Hix97JRr6M


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  10. #20
    Join Date: May 2013

    Location: Rotherham

    Posts: 693
    I'm steve.

    Default Anyone made a Frugelhorn Lite speaker kit ?

    Outriggers arrived this morning and are now fitted, really delighted with them, speakers are a lot more stable and being able to adjust the spike’s height from above with an Allen key makes levelling a doddle, spikes are pretty long so raise the speakers a little over an inch more than the standard spikes so getting the drivers closer to ear level. While I had the speakers downstairs I took the opportunity to try them on my main setup with my Rega Brio, as I anticipated the SQ moved up a couple of notches compared to the CXA60 in the bedroom, more weight and solidity at the bottom end and just generally more refinement.
    Think the SQ will improve when I change to an outboard DAC with the CXA60, have got a Topping D30 on order but no doubt it could take a while to arrive.




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    Last edited by steve-z; 20-05-2020 at 15:15.

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